Cancer represents the phenotypic end-point of multiple genetic lesions that endow cells with a full range of biological properties required for tumorigenesis. Indeed, a hallmark genomic feature of many cancers, including, for example, cancers of the head and neck, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and colon cancer, is the presence of numerous complex chromosome structural aberrations, including translocations, intra-chromosomal inversions, point mutations, deletions, gene copy number changes, gene expression level changes, and germline mutations, among others. Whether a cancer will respond to a particular treatment option may depend on the particular genomic features present in the cancer.
The need still exists for identifying effective treatment options for cancer. Identification of genetic features in a cancer can be an effective approach to develop compositions, methods and assays for evaluating and treating the cancer.